March 21, 2019 (Gas Works to Discovery Park)

Welcome to Seattle Close to Home — a weekly round-up of ideas for time-crunched Seattle-area residents, who want to get outside, volunteer, and eat good food, but don’t necessarily want to drive far (or at all).

Help out with planting at Discovery Park. On Sunday from 9am to 12pm, Green Seattle Partnership will be installing native plants at the park. Find a registration link, as well as details about what to wear/bring, online — and meet at the park’s north parking lot.

Join your fellow spring cyclists. Join Cascade Bicycle Club on Saturday for “Getting Ready to Ride,” a leisurely/steady-paced 21.5-mile ride. The start (10am) and finish are at Gas Works Park, and the route includes Magnolia and Queen Anne (so expect a few hills).

Get Out! and explore Discovery Park. Our favorite in-city get-away offers miles of beach and trail walking opportunities, as well as shady forests and sweeping views of the Sound and Olympic Peninsula. Find a trail map at the Environmental Learning Center (3801 Discovery Park Blvd) or online.

Fuel up with a picnic in the park. Magnolia’s Metropolitan Market (3830 34th Ave W) offers a large selection of locally-sourced take-away options.

Leaving the car at home? Metro bus #24 goes to Magnolia’s Metropolitan Market, which is just a few blocks from Discovery Park. The #33 goes to the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center area.

To get to Gas Works, the UW light rail station is less then 2-miles away on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Buses #31 and #32 stop a couple of blocks from Gas Works.

Weather forecast: Highs are forecast to be in the mid- to upper-50s, with cloud cover on Saturday and a partly sunny Sunday.

October 11, 2018 (Queen Anne/South Lake Union)

Welcome to Seattle Close to Home — a weekly round-up of ideas for time-crunched Seattle-area residents, who want to get outside, volunteer, and eat good food, but don’t necessarily want to drive far (or at all).

Help out with the fight against heart disease and stroke. Join the Puget Sound Heart & Stroke Walk as a volunteer or participant. The event takes place at the Seattle Center and walkers/runners can choose between a 1-mile or a 5k route.

Join your fellow enlightened. The inaugural BOREALIS festival happens this weekend (rain or shine) at Lake Union Park and the South Lake Union neighborhood. Each evening, Thursday through Sunday, features a competition and exhibition of technology and light art, live music, street art performance, lighting art installations, and multi-media video mapping. The festival is free, but tickets are needed for the video mapping performances.

Get out! and up the hill. Take in one of the best views in Seattle (and get a pretty good workout too) at Kerry Park. From the Seattle Center, head up the hill to W Highland Dr and turn west to the park (211 W Highland Dr).

Fuel up at Toulouse Petit. Beignets, catfish sticks, and other New Orleans-inspired fare are available at this Lower Queen Anne favorite (601 Queen Anne Ave N). Weekend brunch is served from 8am to 3pm, as well as Early Happy Hour (4-6pm), dinner (5-11pm), and Late Night Happy Hour (10pm to closing).

Leaving the car at home? To get to the Seattle Center, you can take buses #8#13/2, and #24/19. For South Lake Union, bus #40 runs along Westlake Avenue and #70  goes along Eastlake. The South Lake Union streetcar travels to SLU from the Westlake light rail station.

Weather forecast: Low 60s and mostly sunny (!)

September 27, 2018 (Belltown/Lower Queen Anne)

Welcome to Seattle Close to Home — a weekly round-up of ideas for time-crunched Seattle-area residents, who want to get outside, volunteer, and eat good food, but don’t necessarily want to drive far (or at all).

Help out the Olympic Peninsula. Join the Wild Olympics Campaign and learn about the effort to protect the ancient forests and wild rivers of the Olympic Peninsula and how to take action. Two short films will be shown, followed by a Q&A. Takes place on Thursday evening (7:30-9:30pm) at Patagonia (2100 1st Ave).

Join your fellow outdoor art lovers at the Olympic Sculpture Park. The Site, Sculpture, Shoreline: Discover Olympic Sculpture Park tour happens on Saturday and Sunday at 1pm. If you haven’t been here (or it’s been a while), you’ll learn about the park’s landscape design, environmental planning, sculpture, native plantings, and works of art. Meet outside the PACCAR Pavilion (2901 Western Ave).

Get out! on a park tour of your own. The trails crisscrossing the Olympic Sculpture Park offer not just views of the outdoor art, but also a stunning panorama of downtown Seattle, Puget Sound, and (weather permitting) the Olympics. Extend your walk (or bike ride) into Myrtle Edwards Park and beyond.

Extend your walk to the Seattle Center via the Thomas Street Pedestrian Overpass and check out the Italian Festival. Activities include cooking demonstrations, “Opera for Kids,” a grape stomping competition, and an expansive food court and vendor market — all happening Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 7pm.

Fuel up at Le Pichet. We always feel transported to Paris when at this Belltown/Pike Place Market cafe (1933 1st Ave). The french onion soup is not to be missed. Open daily from 8am to midnight.

Leaving the car at home? Bus #24/19 goes to the Olympic Sculpture Park and the Seattle Center. And buses #13/2 and #8 go to the Seattle Center. These routes (except the #8) stop within a block or two of Patagonia and Le Pichet.

Weather forecast:  Saturday is forecasted to be as warm as 72 degrees and partly sunny; Sunday might see a few showers and a high of 68.